
aass_Ekl 



Book - f\ ? ^ 



/ 

AN 

ORATION, 

DELIVERED 

AT 

p L r M u r H,,. 

DECEMBER z%, i8oa. " 

AT THE ^ 

ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION 

OF THE 

FIRST LANDING OF OUR ANCESTORS, 

AT THAT PLACE. 




V 



BY 3|ol|tt €^!tmcr jaoanTsf. 



[Publiflied at the requefl: of the Hon. Joshua Thomas, James Thacher, 
and William Jackson, Efquires, the Committee of the town of Pty- 
moutb, by whofe delire it was publiflied] 



Ad ilia mihi pro fe quifqiie acriter, intendat animum quae vita, qui 
mores fuerint ; per quos viros, quibufque artibus, et partum et auctum 
imperium fit — Hoc illud eft praecipue in cognitione rerum falubre ac 
frugiferum, omnis tc exempli documenta in illuftri poiita monumento 
intueri : inde tibi tuaeque reipublicas quod imitere, capias. livy. 




BOSTON, 

PRINTED BY RUSSELL AND CUTLER, 

1802. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

THE hiftorical fai5ls, relative to the firft fettlers of the Ply- 
moiuh Colony, noticed in this Difconrfe, arc colleded from the 
narratives in Purchas, from Prince's Chronology — fromthe Ap- 
pendix to the fecond volume of Hutchinfon's Hiflory, and a- 
bovc all from the fecond volume of Dr. Belknap's American 
Biography — a work which no American, interefted in the ho- 
nour of his country, can perufe without keenly feeling, as a na- 
tional calamity, the ftroke of deatli which arrelled the autlior 
in the midftofhis labours upon its continuation. I cannot 
forbear exprefling here the hope, that fome of the living orna- 
ments of our literature will take up the plan which he had fo 
fuccefsfully commenced, and make all the diftinguilhtu cha- 
raders of paft times on this continent, more intimately known 
to their pofterity, than they havt been hitiierio. 




Kyt'ji Uratioii, ^c. 



Among the fentiments of moft power- 
ful operation upon the human heart, and moft 

highly honorable to the human character, are thofe 
of veneration for our forefathers, and of love for 
our pofterity. They form the connecting links 
between the felfifh and the focial paffions. By the 
fundamental principle of chriftianity the happi- 
nefs of the individual is interwoven by innumera- 
ble and imperceptible ties with that of his cotcm- 
poraries : by the power of filial reverence and 
parental affe^lion, individual exiftence is extended 
beyond the limits of individual life, and the hap- 
pinefs of every age is chained in mutual depend- 
ence upon that of every other. Refpecl for his 
anceftors excites in the breaft of man, intereft in 
their hiftory, attachment to their charaders, con- 
cern for their errors, involuntary pride in their 
virtues. Love for his pofterity fpurs him to ex- 
ertion for their fupport, ftimulates him to virtue 



for their example, and fills him with the tendered 
folicitude for their welfare. Man, therefore, was 
not made for himfelf alone — No ! He was made 
for his country by the obligations of the focial 
compafl : he was made for his fpecies, by the 
chriftian duties of univerfal charity : he was 
made for all ages paft by the fentiment of reve- 
rence for his fcnxfathcrs ; and he was made for 
all future times by the impulfe of affection for his 
progeny. Under the influence of thefe principles, 
" Exiflence fees him fpurn her bounded reign." 
They redeem his nature from the fubjc6lion of 
time and fpace : he is no longer- a " puny infect 
fliivcring at a breeze ;" he is the glory of crea- 
tion — ^Form'd to occupy all time and all extent : 
bounded during his refidence upon earth, only by 
the boundaries of the world, and deftined to life 
and immortality in brighter regions, when the 
fabric of nature itfelf fliall diflblvc and peiifh. 

The voice of hiftory, has not in all its compafs 
a note, but anfwers in unifon with thefe fenti- 
ments. Tlie barbarian chieftain who defended 
Jus country againfl the Roman invafion, driven to 
the remotcft extremity of Britain, and ftimulat- 
ing his followers to battle by all that has power 
of perfuafion upon the human heart, concludes 
his exhortation by an appeal to thefe irrefiflible 
feelings* — " Think of your forefathers and of 

•Prcindr itiiri in acift)i, ct majora vcflros ct poflcros cogitate. 

Ciltjcui in Vlt:i ApricoUc. 



your poflerity." i'lie Romans themfclves, at the 
pinnacle of civilization, were aduatcJ by the fame 
imprcllions, and celebrated in anniverfary fellivals 
every great event which had fignalizcd the annals 
of their forefathers. To multiply inftances, where 
it wereimpoilible to adduce an exception would 
be to wafte your time and abufe your patience : 
but in the facred volume which contains the fub- 
flance of our firmcft faith and of our moft preci- 
ous hopes, thefe paflions, not only maintain their 
higheft eilicacy, but are fanclioned by the expref^- 
injunctions of the Divine legiflator to his chofen 
people. 

THE revolutions of time furnifli no previous 
example of a nation, fhooting up to maturity 
and expanding into greatnefs with the rapidity 
which has charaderized the growth of the Amer- 
ican people. In the luxuriance of youth ^nd in the 
vigor of manhood it is pleafingand inflrucli\ e to 
look backwards upon the helplefs days of infancy :, 
but in the continual and effential clianges of a 
growing fubject, the tranfactions of that early pe- 
riod would be foon obliterated from the memory, 
but for fome periodical call of attention to aid the 
lilent records of the hiftorian. Such celebrations 
aroufe and gratify tlie kindHcft emotions of the 
bofom. They are faithful pledges of the refpecl 
we bear to the memory of our anceftors and of 



8 

the tendernefs with which we cherifh the rifing 
generation. They introduce the fages and heroes 
of ages paft to the notice and emulation of fucceed* 
ing times : they are at once teftimonials of our 
gratitude, and fchools of virtue to our children. 

THESE fentiments are wife — they are honora- 
able — they are virtuous — their cultivation is not 
merely innocent pleafure, it is incumbent duty. 
Obedient to their dictates, you my fellow-citizens 
have inftituted and paid frequent obfervance to 
this annual folemnity. And what event of weight- 
ier intrinfic importance or of more extenfive con- 
fequences was ever fele6tcd for this honorary dif- 
tinftion ? 

IN reverting to the period of their origin, 
other nations have generally been compelled to 
plunge into the chaos of impenetrable antiquity, 
or to trace a lawlefs anceftry into the caverns of 
ravifhers and robbers. It is your peculiar privi- 
lege to commemorate in this birth-day of your 
nation, an event afcertained in its minuteil details: 
an event of which the principal a6lorsare known 
to you familiarly as if belonging to your own 
age : an event of a magnitude before whlcli Im- 
agination flirinks at the imperfection of her pow- 
ers. It is your further happinefs to behold in 
thofe eminent characters who were moft confpi- 



cuous in accompUlliing the fettlement of your 
country, men upon whofe virtues you can dwell 
.with honeft exultation. The founders of your 
race are not handed down to you, like the father 
of the Roman people, as the fucklings of a wolf. 
You are not defcended from anaufcous compound 
of fanaticifm and fenfuality, whofe only argu- 
ment was the fword, and whofe only paradifc 
was a brothel. No Gothic fcourge of God— No 
Vandal peft of nations— No fabled fugitive from 
the flames of Troy— No baftard Norman tyrant 
appears among the lift of worthies who firft land- 
ed on the rock, which your veneration has pre- 
ferved as a lafting monument of their atchieve- 
ment. The great aclors of the day we now folem- 
nize were illuftrious by their intrepid valor, no 
lefs than by their chriftian graces ; but the clarion 
of conqueft has not blazoned forth their names to 
all the winds of Heaven. Their glory has not 
been wafted over oceans of blood to the remoteft 
regions of the earth. They have not erected to 
themfelves, coloffal ftatues upon pedeftals of hu- 
man bones, to provoke and infult the tardy hand 
of heavenly retribution. But theirs was " the 
better fortitude of patience and heroic martyr- 
dom." Theirs was the gentle temper of chriftian 
kindnefs — the rigorous obfervance of reciprocal 
iuftice — the unconquerable foul of confcious in- 



t4> 

tcgrity. Worldly Fame has been parfimonious of 
her favors to the memory of thofe generous 
champions. Their numbers were fmall — their 
nations in lifeobfcurc — theobjed of their enter- 
prize unoftentatious — the theatre of their exploits 
remote : how could they pofTibly be favorites of 
worldly Fame ? That common crier, whofe ex- 
iftence is only known by the alTcmblage of multi- 
tudes — That pander of wealth and greatnefs fo 
eager to haunt the palaces of fortune, and fo faf- 
tidious to the houfelefs dignity of virtue — that 
paralite of pride, ever fcornful to meeknefs, and 
ever obfequious to infolent power — that heedlefs 
trumpeter, whofe ears are deaf to modeft m^rit, 
and whofe eyes are blind to bloodkfs dillant ex- 
cellence. 

WHEN the perfecu ted companions of i^o^/Vz/c-w, 
exiles from their native land, anxioufly fued for 
the privilege of removing a thoufand leagues 
more diftant to an untried foil, a rigorous climate 
and a favage wildernefs, for the fake of reconciling 
their fenfe of religious duty with their afFeclions 
for their country, few, perhaps none of them 
formed a conception of what would be within two 
centuries the refult of their undertaking. When 
the jealous and niggardly policy of their Britifh 
fovereign, denied them even that humbleft of 
requefls, and inftead of liberty would barely con- 



1 1 



feJit to promife connivance, neither he nor they 
might be aware that they were laying the foun- 
dations of a power, and that he was fowing the 
feeds of a fpirit, which in lefs than two hundred 
years would Itagger the throne of his defcendants, 
and ffiake his united kingdoms to the centre. So 
far is it from the ordinary habits of mankind to 
calculate the importance of events in their ele- 
mentary principles, that had the firft colonifts of 
our country ever intimated as a part of their de- 
figns, the project of founding a great and mighty 
nation, the finger of fcorn would have pointed 
them to the cells of bedlam, as an abode more 
fuitable for hatching vain empires than the foll- 
tude of a tranfatlantic defert. 

THESE confequences, then fo little forefeen, 
have unfolded themfelves in all their grandeur, to 
the eyes of the prefent age. It is a common 
amufement of fpeculative minds, to contraft the 
magnitude of the moft important events with the 
minutenefs of their primeval caufes, and the re- 
cords of mankind are full of examples for fuch 
contemplations. It is however a more profitable 
employment to trace the conftituent principles of 
future greatnefs in their kernel ; to detect in the 
acorn at our feet the germ of that majeftic oak, 
whofe roots fhoot- down to the centre, and whofe 
branches afpire to the ikies. Let it be then our 



12 



prefent occupation to enquire and endeavour to 
afcertain, the caufcs firlc put in operation at the 
period of our commemoration, and already pro- 
' duclive of fuch magnificent effects. — To examine 
Xvith reiterated care and minute attention, the cha- 
racters of thofe men who gave the firft impulf 
to a new leries of events in the hiftory of the 
world. — To applaud and emulate thofe qualities 
of their minds which we fhall find deferving ot 
our admiration. — To recognize with candour 
thofe features which forbid approbation or even 
require cenfure, and finally, tolay alike their fraiK 
ties and their perfections to our own hearts either 
as warning or as example. 

OF the various European fcttlemcnts upon 
this continent which have finally merged in one 
independent nation, the firft eftablifliments were 
made at various times, by feveral nations and un- 
der the influence of different motives. In many 
inftances the convictions of religious obligation 
formed one and a powerful inducement of the 
adventurers ; but in none, excepting the fettie- 
ment at Plymouth, did they conftitute the fole 
and exclufive actuating caufe. Worldly intereft 
and commercial fpeculation entered largely into 
the views of other fettlers : but the commands 
of confciencc were the only ftimulus to the emi- 
grants from Leyden. Previous to their expedition 



I 'I 



iiither they had endured a long baniflimcnt from 
their native country. Under every fpecies of dif- 
couragement they undertook the voyage — they 
performed it in fpitc of numerous and almoft in- 
fuperable obftacles : they arrived upon a wilder- 
nefs bound with fruft and hoary with fnow, with- 
out the boundaries of their charter : outcaft* 
from all human fociety ; and coafted five weeks 
together in the dead of winter, on this tempeftu- 
ous fliore, expofcd at once to the fury of the ele- 
ments, to the arrows of the native favage, and to 
the impending horrors of famine. 

COURAGE and perfeverancc hav^ a magical tal- 
ifman, before which difficulties difappear and ob- 
ftacles vanifh into air. Thefe qualities have ever 
been difplayed in their mightieft perfection as at- 
tendants in the retinue of ftrong paffions. From 
the firft difcovery of the weftern hemifphere by 
Columbus, until the fettlement of Virginia, which 
immediately preceded that of Plymouth, the va- 
rious adventurers from the antient world had ex- 
hibited, upon innumerable occalions, that ardor of 
entcrprize and that ftubbornnefs of purfuit, which 
fet all danger at defiance and chain the violence of 
nature at their feet. But they were all inftigated 
by perfonal interefts — Avarice and ambition had 
tuned their fouls to that pitch of exaltation — Self- 
ifli paffions were the parents of their heroifm. It 



was refer vcd fof the firft lettlers of New-England 
to perform atchievements equally arduous, to 
trample down obftructions equally formidable 
to difpel dangers equally terrific under the fmglc 
infpiration of confcience. To them, even liberty 
herfelf was but a fubordinate and fecondary con- 
fideration. They claimed exemption from the 
mandates of human authority, as militating with 
their fubjcclion to a fuperior power. Before the 
voice of Heaven they lilenced even the calls of 
their country. 

VET, while fo deeply imprcfledwith the fcnfe 
of religious obligation, they felt in all its energy 
the force of that tender tie which binds the heart 
of every virtuous man to his native land. It was 
to renew that connection with their country 
which had been fevered by their compulfory ex- 
patriation, that they refolved to face all the ha- 
zards of a perilous navigation, and all the labors 
of a toilfome diftant fettlement. Under the mild 
protection of the Batavian Government, they en- 
joyed already that freedom of religious worfliip 
for which they had refigned fo many comforts 
and enjoyments at home : but their hearts pant- 
ed for a reftoration to the bofoth of their coun- 
try. Invited and urged by the open-hearted and 
truly benevolent people who had given them an 
afylum from the perl'ecution of their own kin- 



dred, to form their fcttlemcnt within the territo- 
ries then under their jurifdiclion ; the love of 
their country predominated over every influence 
fave that of confcience alone, and they preferred 
the precarious chance of relaxation from the bi- 
goted rigor of the Englifh Government to the 
certain liberality and alluring offers of the Hol- 
landers. Obferve, my countrymen, the generous 
patriotifm, the cordial union of foul — the con- 
fcious yet unaffeded vigour which beam in their 
application to the Britifh Monarch—" They were 
" well weaned from the delicate milk of their 
" mother country, and inured to the difficulties 
" of a flrange land. They were knit together in a 
" flricT; and flicred bond, to take care of the good of 
" each other and of the whole. It was not with 
*' them as with other men, whom fmall things could 
" difcourao^e or fmall difcontents caufe to wifli 
" themfelves again at home." Children of thcfe 
exalted Pilgrims ! Is there one among you, who 
can hear the fimplc and pathetic energy of thefe 
expreflions without tendernefs and admiration ? 
Venerated fhades of our forefathers ! No I ye were 
indeed not ordinary men ! That country which 
had ejected you fo cruelly from her bofom, you 
Itill delighted to contemplate in the character of 
an aflectionate and beloved mother. The facred 
bond which knit you together was indifToluble 



i6 

while you lived — and oh ! may it be to your de- 
fcendents the example and the pledge of harmony 
tothelateft period of time ! The difliculties and 
dangers which fo often had defeated attempts of 
fimilar eftablifhments were unable to fubdue fouls 
tempered hke yours. You heard the rigid interdic- 
tions— you faw the menacing forms of toil and dan- 
ger,forbidding your accefs to this land of promife : 
but you heard without difmay — you faw and dif- 
dained retreat. Firm and undaunted in the 
confidence of tha^. facred bond — Confcious of the 
purity, and convinced of the importance of your 
motives, you put your trufli in the protecting 
fhicld of Providence, and fmiled defiance at the 
combining terrors of human maUce and of ele- 
mental ftrife. Thefe, in the accompliftiment of 
your undertaking, you were fummoned to en- 
counter in their moil hideous forms : thefe you 
met with that fortitude, and combated with that 
perfeverance which you had promifed in their an- 
ticipation : thefe you completely vanquifhed in 
cftablifliing the foundations of New-England, and 
the day which we now commemorate is the per- 
petual memorial of your triumph. 

IT were an occupation, peculiarly plealing, to 
cull from our early hiftorians and exhibit before 
you, every detail of this tranfaclion. To carry 
you in imagination on board their bark at the firft 



'7 

moment of her arrival in tlie bay — to accompany 
Carver, Winjlow, Bradford ind StandiJJ), in all their 
cxcurfions upon the defolate coafl — to follow 
them intoevei'y rivulet and creek where they en- 
deavoured to find a firm footing, and to fix with 
a paufe of delight and exultation the inllant when 
the firft ©f thefe heroic adventurers alighted on 
the fpot where you, their defcendents, now enjoy 
the glorious and happy reward of their labors. 
But in this grateful talk, your former orators on 
this Anniverfary have anticipated all that the mofc 
ardent induftry could collect, and gratified all 
that the mofl inquifitive curiofity could dcfire. 
To you, my friends, every occurrence of that mo- 
mentous period is already familiar. A tranfient 
allufion to a few characleriftic incidents which 
mark the peculiar hiflory of the Plymouth fet- 
tlers, may properly fupply the place of a narra- 
tive, which to this auditory muft be fuperfluous. 

ONE of thefe remarkable incidents is the exe- 
cution of that inftrument of Government by 
Avhich they formed themfelves into a body-politic, 
the day after their arrival upon the coaft, and 
previous to their firil landing. This is perhaps 
the only inftance, in human hiftory, of that pofi- 
tive, original focial compact, which fpeculative 
philofophers have imagined as the only legitir-^ute 
fource of government. Here was a unanimous 
C 



and perfonal afTent by all the individuals of the 
community, to the airociation by which they be- 
came a nation. It was the refult of circumftances 
and difcuflions, which had occurred during their 
piflage from Europe, and is a full demonftration 
that the nature of civil government, abftrafted 
from the political inftitutions of their native coun- 
try, had been an object of their ferious medita- 
tion. The fctders of all the former European Co- 
lonies had contented themfelves with the powers 
conferred upon them by their refpeclive charters, 
without looking beyond the feal of the royal 
parchment for the meafure of their rights, and the 
rule of their duties. The founders of Plymouth 
had been impelled by the peculiarities of their fit- 
uation to examine the fubjecf with deeper and 
more comprehcnfive refearch. iVfter twelve years 
of banifliment from the land of their firft allegi- 
ance, during which they had been under an adopt- 
ive and tem.porary fubjeclion to another fovereign, 
they muft naturally have been led to reflect upon 
the relative rights and duties of allegiance and 
fubjeclion. They had refided in a city, the feat of 
an univerfity, where the polemical and political 
controverfies of the time were purfued with un- 
common fervour. In this period they had wit- 
nefled the deadly flruggle between the two par- 
ties, into which the people of the United Pro- 
vince, after their feparation from the crown of 



19 

Spain, had divided thcmfelves. The contcli: em- 
braced within its compals not only tlicological 
doctrines, but poHtical principles, and Maurice and 
Biirncvelt were the temporal leaders of the flimc ri- 
val factions, of which Epiftopiiis and Polyandcr^ were 
the eccleiiaftical champions. That the inveftiga- 
tion of the fundamental principles of governrnent 
was deeply implicated in 4hefe diflbnfions is evi- 
dent from the immortaiTtvork of Grottus, upon 
the rights of w^ar and peace, which undoubtedly 
originated from them. Grotius himfelf had been 
a moft diftinguiflied actor and fuflferer in thofe 
important fcenes of intern'al convulfion, and his 
work was (irft publifhed* very fliortly after the 
departure of our forefathers from Ley den. It is 
well known, that in the courfe of the conteft, 
Mr. Robin/on more than once appeared, with cre- 
dit to himfelf as a public difputant againft Epifco- 
plus ; and from the manner in which the fact is 
related by Governor Bradford, it is apparent that 
the whole Englifli church- at Ley den took a zeal- 
ous intereft in the religious part of the contro- 
verfy. As ftrangers in the land it is prefumable 
that they wifely and honorably avoided entang- 
ling themfelves in the political contentions invol- 
ved with it. Yet the theoretic principles, as they 
were drawn into difcuflion, could not fail to ar- 
reft their attention, and muft have allilled tliern 

* la 1625. 



20 



to form accurate ideas concerning the origin and 
extent of authority among men, independent of 
pofitivc inftitutions. The importance of thefe 
circumftances will not l^ duly weighed without 
taking into confideration the ftate of opinions 
then prevalent in England. The general princi- 
ples of government were there little underflood 
and lefs examined. The whole fubftance of hu- 
man authority was centered in the fimple doft- 
rine of royal prerogative, the origin of which 
was always traced in theory to divine inftitution. 
Twenty years later the fubje6l was more induf- 
trioufly fifted, and for half a century became one 
of the principle topics of controverfy between the 
ableft and moft enlitrhtened men in the nation 
The inftrument of voluntary aflbciation executed 
on board the Mayfloivcr, teftifies that the parties 
to it had anticipated the improvement of their 
nation. 

ANOTHER incident from which we may derive 
occafion for important refledions, was the attempt 
of thefe original fettlers to eftablifh among thcin 
that community of goods and of labor which fan- 
ciful politicians, from the days of Plato to thofe of 
Rotifeau^ have recommended as the fundamental 
law of a perfect republic. This theory refults, it 
muft be acknowledged, from principles of rcafon- 
ing moft flattering to the human charafl^cr. If 



CI 



induftry, frugality and difinterefled integrity, 
were .ilike the virtues of all, there would appa- 
rent-y be more of the focial fpirit, in making all 
property a common ftock, and giving to each in- 
dividual a proportional title to the wealth of the 
whole. Such is the bafis upon which Plato for- 
bids in his republic the divifion of property. Such 
is the fyftem upon which Roupau pronounces the 
firft man who enclofed a field with a fence and 
faid this is mine, a traitor to the human fpecies. A 
wifer and more ufeful philofophy however directs 
us to confider man, according to the nature in 
which he was formed ; fubjecb to infirmities, 
which no wifdom can remedy ;; to weakneffes 
which no inftitution can ftrengthen ; to vices 
which no legiflation can corred. Hence it be- 
comes obvious, that feparate property is the nat- 
ural and indifputable right of feparate exertion — 
that community of goods without community of 
toil is oppreflive and unjuft ; that it counteracls 
the laws of nature, which prefcribe, that he only 
who fows the feed fhall reap the harveft : that 
it difcourages all energy by deftroying its re- 
wards ; and makes the moft virtuous and active 
members of fociety, the Haves and drudges of the 
worft. Such was the iffue of this experiment 
among our forefathers, and the fame event de- 
monftrated the error of the fvftem in the elder 



22 



fettlement of Virginia. Let us cherifli that Ipirit 
of harmony, which prompted our, forefathers to 
make the attempt, under circumftanccs more fa- 
vorable to its fuccefs than perhaps ever occurred 
upon earth. Let us no lefs admire the candor 
with which they rcUnfiuifhed it, upon difcoverjng 
its irremediable inefilcacy. To found principles 
of government upon too advantageous an eftimate 
of the human character, is an error of inexperi- 
ence, the fourcc of which is fo amiable, that it is 
impoflible to cenfurc it with feverity. We have 
feen the fame miftake, committed in our own 
age, and upon a larger theatre. Happily for our 
anceftors their fituation allowed them to repair it, 
before its effects had proved deftruclive. They 
had no pride of vain philofophy to fupport, no 
perfidious rage of faction to glut, by perfevering 
in their miftakes until they Ihould be extinguifh- 
ed in torrents of blood. 

AS the attempt to cftablifh among themfelves 
the community of goods was a feal of that facred 
bond which knit them fo clofely together, fo the 
conduct they obferved towards the natives of the 
country, difplays their ftedfaft adherence to the 
rules of juftice, and their faithful attachment to 
thofe of benevolence and charity. 

NO European fettlement ever formed upon 
this continent has been more diftinguifhed for un- 



1^ 

deviating kindnefs and equity towards the fava- 
ges. There are indeed moralifts, who have quel- 
tioncd the right of the Europeans to intrude upon 
the poflcflions of the aboriginals in any cafe, and 
under any limitations whatfoever. But have 
they maturely confidered the whole fubjecl ? The 
Indian right of poflcflion itfelf ftands with regard 
to the greateft part of the country, upon a quefti- 
onablc Voundation. Their cultivated fields ; their 
conftrucl:ed habitations ; a fpace of ample fuffici- 
ency for their fubfiftence, and whatever they had 
annexed to themfelves by perfo'nal labor, was un- 
doubtedly by the laws of nature theirs. But 
what is the right of a huntfman to the foreft of 
a thoufand miles over which he has accidentally 
ranged in queft of prey ? Shall the liberal boun- 
ties of Providence to the race of man be monopo- 
lized by one of ten thoufand for whom they were 
created ? Shall the exuberant bofom of the com- 
mon mother, amply adequate to the nourifhment 
of millions, be claimed exclufively by a few hun- 
dreds of her offspring ? Shall the lordly favagc 
not only difdain the virtues and enjoyments of ci- 
vilization himfelf, but fliall he controul the civili- 
zation of a world ? Shall he forbid the wildernefii 
to blolTom like the rofe ? Shall he forbid the oaks 
of the foreil to fall before the axe of induilry, and 
rife again, transformed into the habitations of eafc 



24 

and elegance ? Shall he doom an iinmenfe region 
of the globe to perpetual defoiation, and to hear 
the howlings of the tygcr and the wolf, filencc for 
ever the voice of human gladnefs ? Shall the 
fields and the vallies, which a beneficent God has 
formed to teem with the life of innumerable mul- 
titudes, be condemned to everlafting barrennefs ? 
Shall the mighty rivers poured out by the hands 
of nature, as channels of communication between 
numerous nations, roll their waters in fullen fi- 
lence and eternal folitude to the deep ? Have 
hundreds of commodious harbours, a thoufand 
leagues of coafl, and a boundlefs ocean been fpread 
in the front of this land, and fhall every purpofe 
cf utility to which they could apply be prohibited 
by the tenant of the woods ? No, generous phi- 
lanthropifts ! Heaven has not been thus inconfift- 
ent in the works of its hands ! Heaven has not 
thus placed at irrcconcileable ftrife, its moral laws 
with its phylical creation ! The Pilgrims of Ply- 
mouth obtained their right of pofleflion to the 
territory on which they fettled by titles as fair and 
unequivocal as any human property can be held. 
By their voluntary affociation they recognized 
their allegiance to the government of Britain; 
and in procefs of time received whatever powers 
and authorities could be conferred upon them by 
a Charter from their Sovereign. The fpot on 
which they fixed had belonged to an Indian tribe. 



-J) 



totally extirpated by that devouring peftilencc 
which had fwept the country, fhortly before their 
arrival. The territory thus free from all exclu- 
five poflellion, they might have taken by the nat- 
ural right of occupancy. Delirous however of 
giving ample fatisfaclion to every pretence of prior 
right, by formal and folemn conven tions with the 
chiefs of the neighboring tribes, they acquired the 
further fecuiity of a purchafe. At their hands 
the children of the dcfert had no caufe of com- 
plaint. On the great day of retribution, what 
thoufands, what millions of the American race 
will appear at the bar of judgment to arraign their 
European invading conquerors ! Let us humbly 
hope that the fathers of the Plymouth Colony 
will then appear in the whitenefs of innocence. 
Let us indulge the belief that they will not only 
be free from all accufation of injufticc to thefc un- 
fortunate fons of nature, but that the telHmonials 
of their adls of kindnefs and benevolence towards 
them will plead the caufe of their virtues as they 
are now authenticated by the records of hiftory 
upon earth. 

RELIGIOUS difcord has loft her ftinp- : the 

o 

cumbrous weapons of theological warfare are an- 
tiquated : the held of politics fupplics the alchym- 
ifts of our times, with materials of more fatal ex- 

plofion, and the butchers of mankind no long-er 

D 



26 

travel to another world for inih'uments of cruelty 
and deitruction. Our age is too enlightened to 
contend upon topics, which concern only the in- 
terefts of eternity ; and men who hold in proper 
contempt all controverflcs about trifles, except 
Aich as ijiflame their own paflions, have made it 
a common-place cenfure again ft your anceftors, 
that their zeal was enkindled by fubje€bs of tri- 
vial importance ; and that liowever aggrieved by 
the intolerance of others, they were alike intole- 
rant thcmfelves. Againft thefe objections, your 
candid judgment will not require an unqualified 
iuftilication ; but your refpefl and gratitude for 
the founders of the ftate may boldly claim an am- 
ple apology. The original grounds of tlieir fepa. 
ration from the church of England, were not ob- 
jc<51s of a magnitude to diflblve the bonds of com- 
munion — much lefs thofe of charity, between 
chriftian bretheren of the fame efl'ential principles. 
Some of them however were not inconfiderable, 
and numerous inducements concurred to give 
them an extraordinary intercft in their eyes. 
"When that portentous fyftem of abufes, the Papal 
dominion, was overturned, a great variety of reli- 
crious feels arofe in its {lead, in the fevcral coun- 
tries which for many centuries before had been 
fcrewed beneath its fubjection. The fabric of the 
reformation, firft undertaken in England upon a 



-7 

contracled bafis, by a capricious and £\n "Quinary 
tyrant, had been fuccefllvcly overthrown and re- 
ftorcd, renewed and altered according to the va- 
rying humours and principles of four fucccllive 
monarchs. To afcertain the prccife point of di- 
vifion between the genuine inftitutions of chrifti- 
anity,.and the corruptions accunaulatjedupon them 
in the progrefs of fifteen centuries, was found a 
taik of extreme difficulty throughout the chriili- 
an world. Men of the profounded learning, of 
the fublimeft genius, and of the purell integrity, 
after devoting their lives to the rcfearch, finally 
differed in their ideas upon many great points 
both of doctrine and difcipline. The main quef- 
tion, it was admitted on all hands, moil; intimate- 
ly concerned the higheft interefts of man, both 
temporal and eternal. Can we wonder, that men 
who felt their happinefs here and their hopes of 
hereafter, their worldly welfare and tlie kingdom 
of Heaven at iiake, fhould fometimcs attach an 
importance beyond their intrinfic weight to col- 
lateral points of controverfy, connected with the 
all-involving object of the reformation ? The 
changes in the forms and principles of religious 
worfhip, were introduced and regulated in En- 
gland by the hand of public authority. But that 
hand had not been uniform or Heady in its ope- 
rations. During the pcrfecutions inflicted in the 



28 

interval of Poplfti reftoration under the reign oi- 
Mary, upon all who favored the reformation, ma- 
ny of the molt zealous reformers had been com- 
pelled to fly their country. While rcfiding on 
the continent of Europe, they had adopted the 
principles of the moft complete and rigorous re- 
formation, as taught and eflablifhcd by Calvin. 
On returning afterwards to their native country 
they were dillatisfied with the partial reformation, 
at which, as they conceived, the Englifh eftablifli- 
ment had refted, and claiming the privileges of 
private confcience, upon which alone any depar- 
ture from the church of Rome could be juftilied, 
they infifted upon the right of adhering to the 
fyftem of their own preference, and of courfe up- 
on that of non-conformity to the eftablilhment 
prefcribed by the royal authority. The only 
means ufed to convince them of error, and re- 
claim them from diflent, was force, and force 
fervedbut to confirm tlie oppofition it was meant 
to fupprefs. By driving the founders of the Ply- 
mouth Colony into exile, it conftrained them to 
abfolute feparation trom the church of England, 
and by the refufal afterwards to allow them a po- 
litivc toleration even in this American wildiirnefs, 
the council. of James the Firji rendered that fepa- 
ration irreconcileablc. Viewi^ig their religiou;^ li- 
berties here, as held only upon lufferance, yet 



29 

bound to them by all the ties of conviction, and 
by all their lufTcrings for them, could they for- 
bear to look upon every diflenter. among them- 
fclves with a jealous eye ? Within two years af- 
ter their landing they beheld a rival fettlement* 
attempted in their immediate neighbourhood ; 
and not long after the laws of felf prefervation 
compelled them to break up a neft of revellers,! 
who boaftcd of protection from the mother coun- 
try, and who had recurred to theeafy but perni- 
cious refource of feeding their wanton idlenefs by 
furniihing the favages with the means,the Ikill and 
the inflruments of European deftruclion. Tolera- 
tion in that inftance would have been felf-murder, 
andmanyotherexamplesmight be alledgedin which 
their necefl'ary meafures of felf-defence have been 
exaggerated into cruelty, and their moft indifpen- 
ilble precautions diftorted into perfecution. Yet 
fliall we not pretend that they were exempt from 
the common laws of mortality, or entirely frse 
from all the errors of their age. Their zeal might 
fometimes be too ardent, but it was always fincere. 
At this day religious indulgence is one of our 
cleared duties, becaufe it is one of our undifputed 
rights. While we rejoice that the principles of 
genuine chriftianity have fo far triumphed over 

* JVrJi.ns Plantation at Weflaguflct 

t Motion, and his party at Mount Wollafton. 



the prejudices of a former generation, let us fer- 
vently hope for the day when it will prove equally 
victorious over the malignant paflions of our own. 

IN thus calling to your attention fome of the 
peculiar features in the principles, the charadier, 
and the hiftory of your forefathers, it is as wide 
from my defign, as I know it would be from your 
approbation, to adorn their memory with a chap- 
let plucked from the domain of others. The oc- 
cafion and the day are more peculiarly devoted to 
them, but let it never be difhonored with a con- 
tracted and cxdufive fpirit. Our affections as ci- 
tizens embrace the whole extent of the union, and 
tlic names oi Raleigh, Smith, Winthrop, Calvert, Penn, 
and Oglethorpe, excite in oar minds recollections 
equally plealing, and gratitude equally fervent 
witli thofe of Carver and Bradford. Two centu- 
ries have not yet elapfed lince the firft European 
foot touched the foil which now conftitutes the 
American union — Two centuries more and our 
numbers muft exceed thofe of Europe herfelf. The 
deftinics of this empire, as they appear in profpcct 
before us, difdain the powers of human calcula- 
tion. Yet, as the original founder of the Roman 
State is faid once to have lifted upon his flioulders 
the fame and fortunes of all his pofterity, fo let 
IIS never forget that the glory and greatnefs of all 



QUI dcfccndiints is in our hands. Prclervc in all 
their purity, refine if" polTible from all their alloy, 
thofe virtues which we this day commemorate as 
the ornament of our forefathers — Adhere to them 
with inflexible rcfolution, as to the horns of the 
altar; inftill them with unwearied perfeverancc 
into the minds of your children ; bind your fouls 
and theirs to the national union as the chords of 
life arc centred in the heart, and you ihall foar 
with rapid and ftcady wing to the furamit of hu- 
man glory. Nearly a century ago, one of thofe 
rare minds* to whom it is given to difcern future 
greatnefs in its feminal principles, upon contem- 
plating the fituation of this continent, pronounc- 
ed in a vein of poetic infpiration, 

" Weflwartl the Star of empire takes its waj'." 

Let us all unite in ardent fupplications to the foun- 
der of nations and the builder of worlds, that 
what then was prophecy may continue unfolding 
into hiftory — that the deareft hopes of the human 
race may not be extinguilhed in difappointmcnt, 
and that the laft may prove the nobleft empire of 
time. 

* Biiliop B:rkdey. 

Erratum. — In the title page, the laft word of the notice, rcfpetSling the 
rcqueft of the Committee of the town of Plymoulh, fliyiiid be ddhcrei, \^• 
flcad of '« publiflicd." 



/f^^ 




* X».>>>**'||^-s»>»ar^ 



IBO'20 



'i'i 



